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Employers Give up the Goods to Keep the Good Ones

Retention is a big word to some companies. It means to keep something, and what the businesses want to keep is good employees. Employee retention is something many business owners are considering these days, and they’re coming up with good answers.
Even though the recession is looking up – or that’s what they say – only trickles of hiring have been seen. More people are getting jobs, but that’s like five more (exaggerated to make a point), not enough to say that hiring is up.
Google plans to hire 6,000 more people and Facebook just started construction on a new plant in arid Prineville, Oregon. These companies have a lot of money and they spend a lot on their employees, with scooters to go from meeting to meeting, foosball and ping pong tables scattered around the workspace and in-house health clinics, they do not have a hard time  keeping good workers.
Raises are on the Low, Retention is on the Rise

Nobody else is Google or Facebook, though. Small businesses are the ones most at risk these days, and they not only can’t afford to hire, they can’t even afford deserving raises and bonuses. They have to find a way to keep their employees happier there than they could be elsewhere. That’s where retention comes in. Retention can be spendy, but works best in the long run.
There isn’t a business owner alive who doesn’t care if their employee turnover is high. It takes money to train each person that’s brought in, and it takes work away from others so they can help train the person, slowing production. If turnover is too high they’ll lose money and service will be bad because people are in training all the time.
They’re giving away memberships to spas, gyms and wholesale retail stores like Costco, and employees are getting musical instrument lessons, discounts on products, movie tickets, gift certificates to restaurants, Ski lift tickets, passes to children’s activities like the zoo, museums, community farms, and all kinds of great things. Does it work? It must; everyone with a staff is doing it.
Filed Under: Business, Hiring Tagged With: , ,

Not as Much Hiring Going on Except for Google

Creative things are happening in this global recession; people are either going out of business or they’re making it big, and there isn’t much left in between. People are trying things from cross-trained employees that are shared to collaborating on storefronts and workspaces, where businesses share everything but the profits.
In a survey done by the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index it was found that the number of businesses hiring were about the same as the number of businesses that didn’t hire in 2010.  It reported that 48% of businesses that did some hiring stayed with the number of employees needed to meet the demands of their customers, while only 9% hired more than was needed in anticipation of needing them down the line.
Of the remaining businesses that hired, 42% hired less than they needed, giving reasons such as worries about finances and a glut of resumes from less than adequately skilled people. Even when the money is coming in, people find it hard to trust and predict what moves to make next. However, it’s also a situation that could quickly turn around with the right circumstances.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Internet giant Google announced that it would be hiring 6,000 new people this year across the globe, and it received a record 75,000 resumes in one week. That’s more than the population of the town Google’s headquarters is in (Mountain View). This record beat the previous high record in May ‘07 by 15%, making it the biggest hiring spree in the company‘s history.
In 2010 Google added 4,500 positions, mostly in engineering and sales, and the new 6,000 will be across the board and around the clock in an array of positions, according to Google executive Alan Eustice, senior vice president of engineering and research. Market Watch says Wall Street has always disagreed with Google’s mass hiring practices, but Google responded that hiring huge numbers is required for their intense move into multiple new markets.
Filed Under: Hiring, Management Tagged With: , ,

Business Trend: Quick Capital

It is not unusual for businesses, especially small businesses, to have a need for quick cash or capital. After all, businesses need to cover short-term and long-term business expenses—even ones that allow the business to expand and grow. Expansion and growth is what allows businesses to generate more income. Short-term lenders such as Payday One are seeing a growing number of business utilizing their services to obtain the funds the business needs.

Advantages of Short-term Loans

When you need quick cash as an individual, payday loans and personal loans are short-term financing options. The same concept holds true for medium and small businesses. In fact, what attracts businesses to short-term loans is that they do not establish a long-term debt for the business. In addition, the loans are quick and easy to get.

Use of the Funds

Businesses are using short-term loans for a variety of reasons. Some businesses are turning to lenders such as Payday One when a piece of equipment breaks downunexpectedlyor supplies must be reordered immediately. Other businesses require a short-term infusion of cash to open a new business location or meet another long-term growth goal. In these cases, the business only needs the money to cover the up-front costs. Once the business makes back the money it had to borrow, the business simply pays off the loan and continues with business as usual.

Things happen and things can go wrong. If you do not have an emergency stash of cash—be it for a personal or business need—then you are going to have to find a way to find the cash you need. Payday loans are just one source for the cash you need when you need it immediately. It is an alternative you should have in the back of your mind, just in case.

Filed Under: Business, Spending Tagged With: , , ,

Venture Capital

Venture Capital is funding provided by private investors to young, start-up businesses that have the potential to offer a significant return on investment. The type of companies that pursue venture capital money are often emerging technology and information technology firms that do not yet have the longevity to access public markets and can not issue debt.
Significant research is required by venture capital firms in making the decision on whom to fund because they need to mitigate the risk in providing financial resources to, oftentimes, an unproven business model. It is estimated that one opportunity per few hundred actually receives funding due to the scrutiny that the company is placed under.
In doing their research, VC firms are looking for a combination of a number of factors: innovative technology, the possibility of rapid growth, a well developed (if as yet unproven) business model, and a competent management team. Once chosen to receive funds, the start-up company usually commits to have several members of the venture capital firm on their board in order to provide further guidance.
There are typically six stages of financing offered by venture capital firms:

  1. Seed Money – to prove out the new idea or concept.
  2. Start-up – to provide for initial production and marketing.
  3. First Round – to enable sales & manufacturing of product or service.
  4. Second Round – to provide working capital.
  5. Third Round – to expand the business as growth sets in, but previous to public offering or issuing debt.
  6. Fourth Round – to bridge the public offering for the company.
The incubation period for venture capital firms to see a return on investment is approximately between three to seven years. This is not carved in stone, however, in that each firm that receives funding is slightly different and their own growth may be accelerated or decelerated.
Venture Capital is associated with a significant percentage of job creation within the innovation sector.
Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Improving Customer Service

One of the most important measurements of the health of small to medium sized businesses is customer satisfaction. For enterprises that can not afford a multi-million dollar national advertising campaign, the grass roots method of satisfying the customer can, and often does, shine a light on how well the business is run.
To that end, there are two main facets of customer service that can continually be improved on to directly impact how satisfied customers are with your business.
#1 – Listen to the customer
#2 – Follow-up with the customer
They sound incredibly simple, and indeed, the ideas behind them are far from rocket science. It is the execution of them, however, that can influence how many consumers will be repeat customers.
#1 – Listen to the customer. No, really – LISTEN to them.  Don’t just hear them. Listen to them. Listen actively to what they are saying to you. Are they asking for assistance in solving a particular problem where your special expertise might be able to save them both time and trouble? How are they standing or sitting when they are speaking? What is their body language? Can you offer a shortcut or piece of advice that had was previously unthought of?
#2 – Follow-up with the customer. Commit who they are to memory and why they visited your business in the first place. If your business model allows for it and they have provided means of communication, send an email checking that your product or service met their requirements. Remember who they are for when they visit your business in the future. Ask them if their problem from the last visit got solved; if it did, ask how it did.
What is being done by following these steps is that a connection is being made between vendor and consumer on a personal level. That connection is invaluable in making the customer a ‘repeat’ customer.
Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Franchise Ownership – Initial Thoughts

For those entrepreneurs who are interested in starting their own business, but a little reluctant to do so without some sort of support, the option of franchising could be the answer they are looking for.
Franchising is one method of starting a business where there is a tried & tested business model already in place. Much of the trial and error has been removed thanks to what comes included with the franchise opportunity: a support structure with other franchise owners who can offer advice; an operations manual that gives step-by-step instructions in how to run the business; a national advertising and marketing team that works to keep your company’s brand in the media spotlight.
There are dozens of types of franchise businesses, each one tailored slightly differently to meet the needs of the owner. Some require the entrepreneur to own real estate, while others offer opportunities to run the business out of the home. There are different models for payment on a monthly basis, requirements for staffing and development of business, along with territory considerations because, as is the basis of a franchise, there is more than likely another franchisee just around the corner.
Indeed, it can be overwhelming. If there isn’t one particular market that is truly appealing, perhaps due to the anticipation of owning A business, help can be provided by way of a Franchise Broker.
A Franchise Broker is enlisted to provide guidance in choosing the right opportunity based on interests and aptitudes. They represent a network of franchise companies and do not charge or take a fee from the individual franchisees. The brokers are reimbursed from the parent companies themselves when a new deal is made with a client.
There are numerous considerations to take into account when choosing this business model, only some of which have been touched here. Research, diligence and asking the right questions will go far in helping to make the right choice.
Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Green Business

Over the last two to three years, the concept of having a ‘Green Business’ or ‘Going Green’ has come more and more into the forefront of the news, politics and society in general. But like so many other concepts that are bandied about, what exactly does ‘Green’ mean?

The idea behind ‘Green’ has to do, as could probably be expected, with nature and the environment. There have been similar movements in the past that have all become part of our cultural psyche: ‘Environmentally Friendly’ and ‘Eco-Positive’ come to mind from recent decades.

The ‘Green’ movement, however, takes the environmental concept further than it’s predecessors in that it is much more than NOT doing harm to the environment by the dumping of toxic chemicals or the ruination of a natural habitat. ‘Green’ focuses its energy on the idea of sustainability; that is, how can certain facets of business be run without making a negative impact on the local or global environment. That environment includes rural communities, society and the economy as a whole. Basically, it seeks to counteract the general trend in business that has been prevalent for centuries: operate for profit now at the expense of future generations.

By focusing on changing the business model so that it becomes sustainable, ‘Green’ seeks to hold businesses accountable for the decisions that they make now as they impact the future. The model is changed in that it is not only the end product that is under the microscope, but the services and processes that surround that product as well. For example, is the supply chain system using a sustainable model as well in acquiring the raw materials to manufacture the product? How is the model for delivery product doing more to reduce emissions in getting this product to market?

‘Green Business’ seeks to close the loop on these business practices today instead of tomorrow.

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Top 10 Countries in Import and Export Business Worldwide

Top 10 Countries in Import and Export Business Worldwide

According to information that was gathered by the United States census bureau, the top ten countries that America trades with the most make up a very large portion of international trade across the globe. There are two countries that we trade with more than others.
From smallest to largest in terms of amount of import and export dollars:

* Singapore
* Taiwan
* The Republic of Korea or South Korea
* France
* United Kingdom
* Germany
* China
* Japan
* Mexico
* Canada

If you are thinking about beginning an import and export business for any reason, then you might consider beginning trade conversations with these countries, especially Canada and Mexico for example since they offer very popular trade routes. You should not only limit yourself to these countries, however, because there are a myriad of other really intriguing possibilities available out there as well, including some fun and enjoyable trade countries like the Caribbean Basin, the former Soviet Union and the Andean pacts for example.

When you are new to the international scene, however, becoming familiar with common trade routes is a good way to go. Becoming familiar with and acquainted with the biggest trading partners that the United States knows is a good way to get a feel for the industry when you are just starting out. Once you feel more comfortable with Canada, Mexico and similar “big traders” in the import and export business, the next course of action is for you to get to know smaller markets and smaller countries so that you can really get a feel for everything that the import and export industry has to offer to you and your business.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Online Surveying of your Target Audience

Online Surveying of your Target Audience

The first step to creating a profitable business plan is to understand how your product is going to be taken in by the public. Understanding the supply and the demand in your market is going to allow you to keep your product at the top of its game. There are a wide variety of ways that you can look to the public to find out which of your products are working and which of your products are not working. You should consider as many different marketing tools as you can, including online surveys which you can send to your customers by way of e-mail. The information that you obtain from such a survey is going to allow you to tailor your products exactly to what your customers are looking for.

If you want to want to see what the public really thinks of your products you should consider online marketing surveys that are sent as email. One of the reasons for this is that it’s very important that you have the ability to tailor your products for their specific needs. This is a very important part of developing a great business plan that will target the supply and demand in your market. All these various bits of information well help ensure your profits and your growth stay positive and at the top of the game.

Another thing you can do to figure out what the consumers want for products is to ensure they have the ability to provide suggestions. It’s important that you ensure they have a way to provide you with feedback about your products. Having this data can be critical to making changes that increase your marketing success. Once you understand the demands of your market you are in a better position to give them what they need so you can keep inventory that sells.

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Momentum in Your Business

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 18: Treasury Secretary ...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Momentum in Your Business

Don’t let your business lose momentum, keep things fresh and pay very close attention to what smaller businesses in your area are doing. What are these places selling the most of, what items are they unable to keep on their shelves? Ensure that your consumers are getting just what they want, keep the money flowing into your business and don’t let your inventory get stale. Don’t let the market pass you by, ensure that you have exactly what is needed in constant supply so profits do not stop and you continue to grow your business.

Do not slack, business can be hard work and doing what you can now will make sure you can get your feet off the ground and will be critical when trying to get up and running. It might seem like you are unable to find the time, but it is key in ensuring that when the trends change, you have the ability to change with them. Providing the goods and services that suite your target demographic want is the best was to take advantage of all the opportunities there are to offer when starting a small business.

There are a variety of tools that you can use as a business owner or as a person who is looking to start his or her own business. Just observing the market trends can be a great cornerstone when it comes to taking advantage of these tools. All this is critical when it comes to developing a business plan that you can adjust as the trends you are watching change so that your profit stays in the positive. Make sure that you are using all of the tools that are at your disposal when you are building your business in order to create a business that is going to thrive rather than one that is going to struggle to create and maintain any semblance of momentum.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: , , ,
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